Results of May Oil and Gas Lease Sale

Bonus bids for a total of 14,458.22 acres (13,459.91 acres in M.T. and 998.31 acres in N.D) at the Bureau of Land Management’s May 10 oil and gas lease sale in Billings totaled $5,228,927.50.

Two Montana parcels received the highest bid per acre of $2,200, which was submitted by Cody Oil & Gas Corporation of Bismarck, N.D. The highest single-parcel bid; submitted by Yates Petroleum Corporation, ABO Corporation, and Myco Industries, Inc., all of Artesia, N.M.; was $1,251,150 for an 878-acre parcel located in McKenzie County, N.D.

All 25 parcels offered for lease received bids and were located on BLM- and U.S. Forest Service-administered lands, with 16 split-estate parcels where the federal government administers the subsurface mineral estate while a private landowner owns the surface. The parcels are located in Richland, Dawson, Roosevelt, Powder River, and McKenzie counties.

Oil and gas leasing is driven by consumer demand, and competitive oil and gas lease sales are conducted several times per year at BLM’s Montana/Dakotas State Office. Receipts from federal oil and gas leases are shared with the state or county where the lands are located. All leases are issued for a 10-year term.

Potential environmental effects that could result from exploration and development are analyzed before any leases are offered for sale. All leases are issued with conditions on oil and gas activities to protect the environment that can include limits on when drilling can occur or restrictions on surface occupancy. Once an operator proposes exploration or development on a BLM-issued lease, further environmental analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act is conducted to determine the site-specific need for various types of impact-limiting or mitigation measures. In addition, many operators routinely use Best Management Practices, such as remote monitoring of producing wells, to minimize surface impacts.

The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM's mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of Americas public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. In Fiscal Year 2015, the BLM generated $4.1 billion in receipts from activities occurring on public lands.